Improvement in automatic mechanisms for registering the course of ships



W. H. RANKIN. Automatic Mechanisms for Registering the Course of Ships. y N0.i47,02i. Patented Feb.3,i874.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC MECHANISMS FOR REGISTERING THE COURSE 0F SHIPS.

Spccilieation I'orming part of Letters Patent No. 147,021, dated February fl, 1R74; application filed November ll, 18,73.

.To all trimm it may concern:

' ie it known. that l, WILLIAM Il. Rankin, of Manchester, in the county of Hillsborough, State of New Hampshire, have invented a eertaiu new and usei'ul Automatic Registering Mechanism forRegisterin the Course of Ships, ot which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, `forming a part ot this specification, oi' which- Figure l is a plan ot` my automatic registering mechanism. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line .r a', Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line y y, Fig. 1.

rlhc nature of my invention consists in. adding to an ordinary mariners7 compass a dial or face made of light paper mounted on the the needle ot the compass in such a manner as to act therewith, and divided into points or the usual spaces. This dial is so arranged and constructed as to be easily and readily removed from the compass whenever required, and has in connection with it a traversing per- I'orating or marking device operated by clock work in such a manner as to move the perfo rating device over the dial in a radial line, traversing from center to eireumterenee, in twenty-tour hours, and also causing the needle ot' the perii'orating device to descend and puncture the card at regular intervals. rlhe object of my invention is to furnish a means ot' recording a ships course when at sea automatically, and thus to prevent the log :from being falsified, as .is sometimes done, i'or the purpose ot' covering up neglect or poor seai'uanship on the part ot' the ollieers oi' the vessel.

A is a box or case inclosin g my device. F is a. paper card or artiiicial dial graduated and marked like the dial ot' a. mariners compass, but divided on the line of the radiuses into spaces to represent hours of the day and night. A card or dial oliA this kind is to be placed on the compass regularly once in ever)Y twenty-four hours, the old one being removed and preserved as a part ot' the ships log. C C, Figs. ll and 8, are liXed rods or guides, upon which the traversing register or )ertoratin g m echanism D slides. This register is operated by a screw, ll, which is attached to the arbor of the hand-wheel. oli' the clock f. t, and is so arranged that when the clock is in motion it will cause it to traverse from the eircumaence to the center ot the dial in twenty-tour hours.

The traversin g-register or perforating meehanisiu consists of.' a frame-work in which a crank-disk, F, Fig. 3, is mounted, which disk is actuated by a small spur-wheel on shaft F, and communicates motion, through the link or pitman L, to the pcrtorating-needle N. An intermittent motion is given to this needle by the device shown in Fig. 2, which consists of a drivin g-wheel and coiled spring at l, and a leteii' or escapement mechanism or cam, li, attached to the shaft F, on' which shaft is arranged a small gear or spur wheel, which intersects with a similar wheel mounted on the same shaft with the disk F3, and through which motion is communicated to said disk. (See Fi 2.) rlhis cam has a proiectingpoint or tooth, ll as shown, which rests against pins on the disk K, being kept forcibly against one of the pins (untilallowed to escape) by the action otthe spring around the sha-,tt of the wheel l, Fig. 2. This disk K is on a wheel corresponding with the third wheel of a clock, and is made to revolve by any suitable clockwork at a fixed velocity, so that the point Hf of the cam H set i'ree at certain intervals, and, after making one revolution, is stopped by the next pin on the disk, by which it is caught, and against which it must rest until the disk has revolved sullieiently to let it escape, or until it is again set free. lhe cam ll being on the shaft F, it is evident (see Fig. 1) that when it is allowed to revolve motion will be communicated to the disk F3, and the prickin g or perforating meehanism will be caused to act-that is to say, the needle X will be instantaneously thrust downward and drawn. back again as the di sk'F3 revolves, thus pcriorating the paper dial. or card '13, the rapid movements of the needle N not interfering with the movements of the cont pass needle and d ial mounted on the same.

rlo use my device, the card is placed on the compass and the clock work adjusted and wound up. Now, as time passes and the clock runs down (the register being on board a ship under way) the ncedlecarriage D or perforatl ing mechanism will be moved radially by the clock-work and the dial be pnuctured at regu `lar intervals, each interval of distance meas ured on any radial line corrcspondin g to time,

- course on which the ship is sailing.

and the dil'l'crcnt radial lines representing the (llour and halt-hour circles may be marked on the dial or circles representing more or less time.)

lt will be readily understood that by drawing lilies troni one puncture to another, after it has remained on the compass for twentyi'onr hours, the dit't'erent courses upon which the ship has sailed during that time can bc obtained graphically, while the circle marked on the dial would showthe time during which the ship was kept on any particular course. lt will also bc understood that when the traversing-register or pertorating mechanism has advanced to the centerot the dial, or has been in operation for twenty-four hours, it must be reset, which is done by disconnecting the screw ll trom thc clock-arbor to which it is attached, and turning the screw so as to move the peri'orating mechanism back on the rods or guides to its original position, or to the edge of the dial nearest the clock-work. The screw must then be connected again with said arbor preparatory to the proper operation of the device i'or the succeeding twentyt'our hours.

.l am aware that in English patent Xo. 7ST, granted to one Arthur .in the year 1865, a device is described having some ot' the characteristics of mine, but the mechanism shown in said patent diit'ers from my invention in many important respects. ln said Arthurs mechanism a pencil is used for recording the course ot the ship on a paper prepared forthat Y purpose, which paper is arranged around a vertically-rotating cylinder provided with a magnet, the pencil being caused to move vertically on the surface of such paper by a screw ope ated by clock-work. One oi' the objections to this arrangement is that thc pencil is kept in constant or nearly constant contact with the paper, and soon wears, causing it to mark inullerl'ectly. Another is that the friction ot' thc pencil on the paper is liable to overcome the action of the magnet, and prevent the cylinder from turning freely; and another is that when a movement of the cylinder takes place, which is not caused by an actual change in thc course of the ship the pencil being in contact with the paper on the cylinder will make an erroneous record, the extent of the error in this respect being much greater than in my invention, in which, when the compass-needle or paper disk mounted on the compass is accidentally moved, it will right itselt' or assume a correct position between the strokes of the pert'orating needle. For this reason it has been found in practice that the record made by a needle intermittently perforatin g a paperdisk, as described, will register more perfectly than a pencil arranged as shown in said patent. I therefore do not claim anything whatsoever shown or described in said patent, when in and ot' itself considered; but

The automatic register described, consisting of the traversing periorating mechanism operated by clock-work, in combination with a mariners compass provided with an artiiicial dial arranged horizontally, on which the course ot the ship is registered by such pertbrating mechanism, substantially as specified.

XVM. HENRY RANKIN.

Witnesses:

J tsTIN SPEAR, EDwIX R. JoNns. 

